Utah one of healthiest states in nation

SALT LAKE CITY — While much of the nation is getting heavier, Utah residents can take some pride that they are among the healthiest people in the country — although not by much.

A new report named the Beehive State as the eighth least obese state in the United States.

According to the seventh annual F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2010 report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the state's adult obesity rate is 23.2 percent.

Nationally, more than two-thirds of states (38) have adult obesity rates above 25 percent.

The state with the highest adult obesity rate was Mississippi at 33.8 percent, while the state with the lowest adult obesity rate was Colorado at 19.1 percent.

Even though the Beehive State was relatively healthy according to the study, a spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Health said there is plenty of room for improvement.

"We're one of the lowest as far as obesity rates for adults," said Lynda Blades, Utah Department of Health physical activity and state grant coordinator. "But if you also look at overweight and obese together, about 60 percent of the state is overweight or obese."

That would be 58 percent to be exact, the report showed.

Over the years, she said, there has been a "culture shift," making the norms for individual diets and meals change significantly.

"Portion sizes … have gotten bigger," Blades said. "And just the availability of fast food … as well as the changes we've seen in our economy. People want value, and they perceive that they are going to get a great value when they eat off the dollar menu. They perceive that the healthier foods — fruits and vegetables — are not as affordable, which may be reality in some cases."

The report also highlighted troubling racial and ethnic disparities in obesity rates. For instance, adult obesity rates for blacks and Latinos were higher than for whites in at least 40 states and the District of Columbia.

In Utah, the adult obesity rate was 34.5 percent among blacks and 23.6 percent among Latinos, compared with 23.0 percent among whites.